PRESS BOX

Orioles lose Benson, tab Trachsel to fill his spot

Orioles pitcher Kris Benson has a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder and will almost certainly miss the 2007 season.

Benson, 32, will require surgery to repair his injury, which surfaced after he began throwing in off-season workouts. Rotator cuff tears usually require eight to 12 months of rehabilitation.

Baltimore moved quickly to fill his spot in the starting rotation, agreeing Monday with free agent right-hander Steve Trachsel on a $3 million, one-year contract, according to a baseball official. The contract, which is pending a physical, includes a club option for 2008. Trachsel, 36, was 15-8 with a 4.97 ERA for the Mets last season.

After coming to Baltimore in a January 2006 trade with the Mets, Benson went 11-12 with a 4.82 ERA in 30 starts. This season he was supposed to provide experience in a young starting rotation that includes Erik Bedard, Daniel Cabrera and Adam Loewen.

Time Warner Inc. reached a deal to sell the Braves to Liberty Media Corp., the Wall Street Journal reported. The agreement would involve Time Warner transferring the Braves, a group of craft magazines and $1 billion in cash to Liberty in exchange for about 60 million shares of Time Warner worth about $1.27 billion.